LOS ANGELES — Londynn Jones scored 15 points, making all five of her 3-pointers, and fifth-ranked UCLA stunned No. 1 South Carolina 77-62 on Sunday, ending the Gamecocks' overall 43-game winning streak and their run of 33 consecutive road victories. The Gamecocks (5-1) lost for the first time since April 2023, when Caitlin Clark and Iowa beat them in the NCAA Tournament national semifinals. Te-Hina Paopao scored 18 points and Tessa Johnson scored 14 for the Gamecocks, whose road winning streak was third-longest in Division I history. It was the first time UCLA took down a No. 1 team in school history, having been 0-20 in such games. The program's previous best wins were over a couple of No. 2s — Oregon in 2019 and Stanford in 2008. Elina Aarnisalo added 13 points as one of five Bruins in double figures. UCLA (5-0) dominated from start to finish, with the Bruins' suffocating defense preventing the Gamecocks from making any sustained scoring runs. South Carolina: The Gamecocks trailed by double-digits at halftime for the first time since Dec. 21, 2021, against Stanford, according to ESPN. Chloe Kitts, who averages a team-leading 14 points, finished the game with 2 points on 1 of 7 shooting. UCLA: The Bruins led 43-22 at halftime. Eight different players scored and contributed to 11-0 and 7-0 runs in the first and second quarters as they shot 52% from the field. The first quarter set the tone for a game in which the Gamecocks never led. They missed their first nine shots and were 4 of 18 from the floor in the quarter. UCLA ran off 11 straight points to take a 20-10 lead into the second quarter. The Bruins dominated the boards, 41-34, and held the Gamecocks well under their scoring average of 80.2 points. South Carolina travels to Florida to meet Iowa State in the Fort Myers Tipoff on Thanksgiving. UCLA travels to the Rainbow Wahine Showdown in Hawaii to play UT Martin on Friday. Get local news delivered to your inbox!

Johnson 0-1 0-0 0, Lampkin 7-13 3-3 17, Deck 5-7 2-3 13, Hardaway 3-5 2-4 9, Wooten 9-13 3-6 23, Talley 3-5 0-0 7, Brackens 0-0 0-0 0, Brannon 0-0 0-0 0, McGrew 0-2 0-0 0, Moore 0-1 0-0 0, Price 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 27-48 10-16 69 Augmon 1-2 0-0 2, McFarland 0-1 0-0 0, Blair 4-12 7-7 18, Cooke 2-8 1-2 5, Love 6-16 6-6 19, Bostock 0-4 0-0 0, Chevalier 1-2 0-0 2, Merchant 3-11 1-4 7, Totals 17-56 15-19 53 3-Point Goals_North Texas 5-13 (Deck 1-2, Hardaway 1-2, Wooten 2-5, Talley 1-1, McGrew 0-2, Price 0-1), Houston 4-20 (Blair 3-6, Cooke 0-2, Love 1-6, Bostock 0-2, Chevalier 0-1, Merchant 0-3). Assists_North Texas 17 (Hardaway 5), Houston 3 (Love 2). Fouled Out_None. Rebounds_North Texas 38 (Lampkin 10), Houston 26 (Love 8). Total Fouls_North Texas 18, Houston 18. Technical Fouls_None. A_864.

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hen Dr. Amandeep Bhalla enters the the outside world melts away. There are no phone calls to take, no MyChart messages to return, no strict timetables to adhere to. The priority is clear: the person on the table. A beating heart and breathing lungs. Hands that someone in the waiting room is eager to hold again. Bhalla thinks of his newborn daughter and his aging parents, of every life that intertwines with the one lying, unconscious, on his operating table. It’s a "tremendous honor," a "fantastic gift" to be trusted like this, the spine told Newsweek from his Long Beach, California, office—and there is nothing more important than being worthy of that trust. "When a patient is under the only thing in the world that everybody in the room is focused on is the patient," Bhalla said. Each year, 15 million Americans have some sort of surgery, according to the American College of Surgeons. These patients give control of their bodies—and oftentimes, their lives—to a surgeon who was likely a stranger until just before the Such complete trust is increasingly rare in the health care industry, which is bleeding public confidence year over year. In 2023, 56 percent of Americans rated the honesty and ethical standards of medical doctors "high" or "very high," according to Gallup’s most recent Honesty and Ethics poll. That’s a 9-point decrease from 2019. But despite this surgeons say they are busier than ever. Ambulatory surgery centers are springing up by the thousands. Cosmetic surgery procedures increased 19 percent between 2019 and 2022, according to data from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Some elective surgeries saw particularly high growth rates during the same time period, like breast reductions, which rose 54 percent. Plastic surgeries do have social media on their side, as online testimonials stigma surrounding cosmetic procedures. But plastic’s resurgence doesn’t stand alone. In almost every specialty, surgeries hardly skipped a beat during the COVID-19 pandemic, even after nonemergent procedures were canceled in March 2020. Surgeries rapidly rebounded through the fall of that year—returning to baseline operation rates and, in some specialties, even exceeding them. While WHO and UNICEF blamed COVID-19 for the "largest continued backslide in vaccinations in three decades," patients returned to operating rooms While some Americans ignored doctors’ warnings not to self-treat the virus with many gave surgeons total authority and went under anesthesia. Do surgeons have something other doctors don’t, a magic touch that No magic, surgeons told Newsweek. Just touch. In today’s health care system, the gaps between patients and physicians can feel —but surgery demands that doctors cross that divide and understand their patients from the inside out. Surgeons are hands-on professionals in an increasingly hands-off world. That intimacy cultivates trust, physicians, patients and industry professionals told Newsweek. Dr. Tiffany Perry specializes in neurosurgery at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles and is among the nation’s top 150 spine surgeons (according to Newsweek’s latest ranking of America’s Best Spinal Surgeons). Each year since 2016—minus a brief during the pandemic—she has spent two weeks operating in Uganda. There, people tend to be more to medical professionals. "It’s almost like stepping back in time to where we used to be here [in the U.S.]," Perry said. "But [in Uganda] they aren’t living in the same consumer, heavily resourced and educated environment, where the ability to all of these conditions is at their fingertips." American patients come to their appointments with pages of questions. They’ve seen their lab results on MyChart and want to talk through the details. They have a friend who was paralyzed by back surgery, a neighbor who is still in pain after their procedure. Amid all the noise, they and reassurance. Perry prefers questions over emphasizing that "none of us it’s something that is earned." She offers patients space to and takes time to address them, never checking the clock. But nowadays, there’s a skepticism spreading through communities, and physicians must work harder to overcome it, Perry said. This skepticism was in part an outgrowth of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the 2022 Edelman Trust Barometer. Nearly half of the 1,000 U.S. survey respondents said the pandemic decreased their confidence "that the health care system is well-equipped to handle major health crises," while 55 percent expressed worry that medical science is "being used to support a specific political agenda." Meanwhile, social media use is at an all-time high, making it easier than ever to access and share Americans’ faith in their ability to make informed health decisions dropped 10 percentage points from January 2017 to March 2022, according to Edelman’s survey—and unvaccinated respondents said they relied on internet searches, friends, family and even "no information" over the advice of their doctor. Nearly one in five Americans trust health influencers more than medical professionals, and 20 percent turn to TikTok before their doctor when seeking treatment for a health condition, according to a 2022 survey from CharityRx. "There’s a huge information asymmetry," said Bhalla, who practices at MemorialCare Long Beach Medical Center and is also on Newsweek’s latest ranking of America’s Best Spinal Surgeons. "Over time, there’s been increased access to the web and social media. There’s more There’s more marketing-driven information. There’s a lot of published material from less reliable sources. And I think that has added to the confusion or some of the difficulty around establishing trust." But as Americans drink from a bottomless well of "health information," many physicians are thirsting for time. That’s a problem, according to Dr. Louis Bucky, who is named among the country’s top 30 surgeons for facelift, liposuction and eyelid surgery on Newsweek’s latest ranking of America’s Best Plastic Surgeons. "Patients come in with much more information, whether that’s correct information or not," Bucky said from his personal practice in Philadelphia. "You need to have time to either or confirm accuracies." Most of today’s doctors don’t have the bandwidth between the electronic health records’ data entry requirements and insurance companies’ time-consuming prior authorization process. To provide guideline-based care for an average 2,500-patient load—and document it all correctly— would need to work 26.7 hours per day, according to a 2022 study in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. But to a patient who waited weeks for an appointment, a doctor’s hurry might come across as apathy. Trust usually comes down to "the provider seeing [the patient] as a person," said Caitlin Donovan, senior director of outreach and communications at the National Patient Advocate Foundation. Patients want a doctor who takes time to ask about their lives and customize a treatment plan—not one who barely makes eye contact before scribbling a script and sending "A lot of times, [patients] see a doctor for 15 minutes and know they’re being billed or their insurance is being billed for hundreds of dollars," Donovan said. "The majority of Americans now are very distrustful of the medical system, simply because of the way billing practices have trended and the high costs which are not corresponding with their health outcomes." Enter the internet, free of charge and open 24/7. Many people can reason that TikTok is not equivalent to a medical professional, said Kristin Lunz Trujillo, an assistant professor of political science at the University of South Carolina who researches misinformation and health attitudes. But it can provide more thorough, immediate feedback than some patients are getting from their physicians. Whether or not that feedback is accurate, "it’s more accessible," Lunz Trujillo said. "It’s something [patients] have agency over, that [they] can try, whereas the medical system has problems they can’t really overcome or don’t have as much agency with." Despite the internet’s ease, many people still crave a physician’s expertise. More doctors are transitioning to to concentrate their time and attention on a smaller number of patients. These patients pay thousands of dollars in annual fees, allowing their physician to take on a fraction of the caseload while slashing their administrative burden. In return, paying clientele get more time with their docs and more personalized experiences. One major draw of concierge medicine is accessibility. Under many models, patients can contact their physician anytime—which is appealing, as pain doesn’t wait for the next available appointment. Dr. Vinay Kamat, who pioneered concierge care at St. Louis-based BJC HealthCare in 2020, told Newsweek he is constantly available to his patients and even visits them if they are hospitalized. The model also gives Kamat time to build trust by sharing medical knowledge with his patients. In the digital age, patients have more questions than they used to—but it’s an important part of a physician’s job to give them answers that inform the shared decision-making process, he said. There’s already an element of concierge care in surgical specialties. The setting is naturally intimate, requiring hours of hands-on labor that uniquely ties the surgeon to the outcome. No one gets operated on after a 15-minute appointment, save for emergencies. Many plastic surgeons serve primarily cosmetic patients, so they don’t have to deal with insurance companies or clinical quotas, according to Dr. Ashley Amalfi, chair of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons’ social media committee and women’s plastic surgery forum. She also stands among the top 185 breast augmentation surgeons on Newsweek’s latest ranking of America’s Best Plastic Surgeons, and practices at the Quatela Center for Plastic Surgery in Rochester, New York. Amalfi can see a patient for 90 minutes at a time if she pleases and can control every aspect of their experience—from the scent in the room to the soundtrack. "It’s almost like we have become more of a hospitality industry as opposed to true medicine," Amalfi said. Perry echoed this idea, telling Newsweek time "is different in surgery than other professions." At Cedars-Sinai, the neurosurgeon works in a more traditional setting than Amalfi and has less control over the clinical environment. Yet her specialization still allows her the time and "luxury" of close listening, she said. While a primary care provider might hear about a headache, and weight gain—all in one visit—highly specialized surgeons can get more specific. And they have to: After all, they’re going to be working inside of that patient. Perry also performs hands-on evaluations and goes over patients’ scans with them, validating their pain as she works out a plan. "Validation is what we [humans] all want," she said. "It doesn’t matter if we want validation because we’re sad, if we want validation because we’re in pain. It’s giving the patient that moment to understand, ‘I get this. I can’t feel your pain, but I understand, and let’s try to formulate a plan together that’s going to be acceptable for you.’" This human link is also important in Bhalla’s practice. Many of his patients arrive with a "fear of the unknown, perhaps of a loss of control." When technology is involved in the procedure, he eases patients’ nerves by reminding them he is still guiding the surgery. "Patients may have built a trust with their surgeon, but they likely would not have built the same level of trust with a piece of equipment," he said. There is no margin for error in medicine. But even the most precise technologies—more accurate than a human being alone—can be met with skepticism from patients. Machines can improve outcomes and move the needle toward health, but they alone cannot provide care. Pain demands comfort, which begs a human touch, surgeons repeatedly told Newsweek. Surgery is one of few specialties where the treatment is another human being—their hands, mind, time. Not "take this medication" or "exercise more." Rather, "I’m going to dedicate this day to you," and "the burden of is not all on you." In order to pull off a successful surgery, the doctor must accompany the patient from start to finish, according to Dr. Camille Cash. She is named among the 185 best surgeons for breast augmentation and eyelid surgery on Newsweek’s latest ranking of America’s Best Plastic Surgeons. Cash has emphasized patient education since launching her Houston-based private practice in 2002. She listens to patients’ concerns, hopes and insecurities—and, as a mother, she meets them with empathy. When she explains a procedure, she uses as little jargon as possible, careful not to or confuse. Then she delves into the details of the patient’s life. "What do you do for a living? Do you live with a partner? Do you have children? Are there stairs in your home? Is the bedroom on the same floor as the kitchen? Are you planning to travel soon?" The answers confirm if the timing is right for surgery, and help Cash provide a detailed post-operative plan for the patient. It can take months to recover, and Cash makes sure every day is covered: How will the patient get food and rest? Who will take the kids to school in their absence? "We’re going to be here to walk [patients], 100 percent, through all the steps and the procedures," Cash said. Bucky places a similar emphasis on aftercare at his plastic surgery practice in Philadelphia. In addition to Bucky Plastic Surgery, he owns the Bucky Body Center to provide for patients, including lymphatic massages and red-light therapies (which deploy colored light to stimulate blood flow and endorphin production and decrease ). When patients come in for surgery from out of town, he has a nurse stay overnight at their hotel. That nurse is trained to check in at the right times, and if the patient has concerns, someone is there to help. Trish Clarke, a patient of Bucky’s, appreciated this after her surgery. She had excess skin removed from her neck after losing weight and recalls Bucky coming to her hotel the next morning to check in and remove her bandages. Her nurse was accessible by text anytime she needed advice in the following weeks. Elsewhere in the health care system, "you feel like more of a number," Clarke said. "But when somebody is going to have you asleep and cut you open, I feel like there does need to be a bit more trust there." Perhaps surgery has held patients’ trust not despite the it requires, but because of it. Risk demands granular attention, and surgeons’ reputations are directly tied to their procedures—a much more delicate stitch than the one between a physician and a prescription. Bucky shares a name with his practice; his photo is the first thing you see on his website. "Besides the patient, I’m probably the second person who is completely invested in their outcome," he said. "How a patient feels about their experience is very important because it has my name associated with it. And my name impacts my children, my my friends, in a very front-and-center concept. In plastic surgery—appearance—you can’t hide it." Patients are reassured by that human connection, the idea that their surgeon has a personal stake in their well-being. "Some of my happiest patients have had complications but felt like they were dealt with optimally and honestly," Bhalla said. "They believe they got care that was earnest, and people feel good when they feel like they were treated honestly and taken care of to the best of someone’s ability." Bhalla lets patients choose the music they listen to as they go under anesthesia. As their vision dims, they hear something familiar, comforting, personal. They know they’re in good hands and the subject of Bhalla’s unwavering attention. He focuses. And then he gets to work. – sala operacyjna – chirurg – znieczulenie – zabieg chirurgiczny – słabnące zaufanie – nadszarpywać coś, podkopywać coś – masowo – środki przeciwpasożytnicze – wzbudzać zaufanie – przypominający otchłań – luka, przerwa – pełen szacunku – wyszukiwać coś (np. informacje) – pragnąć zrozumienia – bezwarunkowa wiara – zasługiwać na bezgraniczne zaufanie – zgłaszać wątpliwości – szerzący się, rozprzestrzeniający się – fałszywa informacja – dezinformacja – powiększenie piersi – rozwiać/wyjaśnić nieścisłości – lekarz pierwszego kontaktu – wysoki rachunek – medycyna osobista/ abonamentowa (model opieki zdrowotnej, w którym pacjenci płacą roczną lub miesięczną opłatę za dostęp do bardziej spersonalizowanej opieki medycznej) – niestrawność – być u steru – leczenie – wzbudzać strach – terapia rekonwalescencyjna – stan zapalny – całkowita uwaga – wrażliwość – współmałżonek Read the text and answer the following questions: 1. What does Dr. Amandeep Bhalla prioritize when he is in the operating room? 2. How does Dr. Bhalla describe the trust patients place in him? 3. How has public confidence in medical doctors changed in recent years? 4. Despite the decrease in trust, what trend is observed among surgeons? 5. How does social media influence patients’ perceptions of medical procedures? 6. What challenge does Dr. Tiffany Perry note about American patients compared to those in Uganda? 7. What issues contribute to the distrust in the medical system? 8. What is concierge care, and how does it attempt to address the problem of trust in the medical system? First, match the words to form collocations and verb phrases that will help you describe the issue presented in the article. Next, write down a sentence using each collocation and verb phrase. The sentences you create should relate to the topic being discussed in the text. ( ) operating tremendous ethical online unconditional rampant health concierge care system faith honor medicine skepticism standards testimonials room cultivate raise rely on trust customize provide come in go under recovery treatments health influencers anesthesia concerns internet searches trust a treatment plan for surgery Students will participate in a discussion about trust in the medical field, particularly in surgery. Task elements: 1. Recall and write down three key points from the text that Dr. Bhalla emphasized about his role and responsibilities as a surgeon. 2. Discuss in pairs/small groups the reasons why trust is critical for surgeons according to the text. 3. Think of two ways surgeons can build trust with their patients despite the prevalence of misinformation online. 4. Design a brief outline for a program aimed at improving trust between doctors and patients. Include at least three specific strategies or activities that would be part of the program. Present your outline to the class. Complete the following summary using information from the text. When Dr. Amandeep Bhalla enters the _________, he focuses completely on the patient. He feels a deep _________ and responsibility in being trusted with someone’s life. This level of trust is rare in today’s healthcare, where public confidence is _________. Despite skepticism, surgeries remain in high demand, partly due to the human connection surgeons provide. Surgeons like Dr. Bhalla and Dr. Perry believe trust is earned through _________ care and personal attention. This approach helps them overcome patients’ fears and skepticism, particularly in a time of widespread _________.

FREMONT, Calif. , Nov. 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Lam Research Corp. (Nasdaq: LRCX) today announced that Doug Bettinger , Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, will participate in the following upcoming investor events: UBS Global Technology and AI Conference, December 3, 2024 , at 1:15 p.m. Pacific Time ( 2:15 p.m. Mountain Time ) Barclays 22 nd Annual Global Technology Conference, December 11, 2024 , at 8:40 a.m. Pacific Time Live audio webcasts of these presentations will be available to the public and can be accessed from the Investors' section of Lam's website at www.lamresearch.com . A replay of the audio webcasts will be available for two weeks after the presentation date. About Lam Research Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ: LRCX) is a global supplier of innovative wafer fabrication equipment and services to the semiconductor industry. Lam's equipment and services allow customers to build smaller and better performing devices. In fact, today, nearly every advanced chip is built with Lam technology. We combine superior systems engineering, technology leadership, and a strong values-based culture, with an unwavering commitment to our customers. Lam Research is a FORTUNE 500 ® company headquartered in Fremont, California , with operations around the globe. Learn more at www.lamresearch.com (LRCX). IR Contact: Ram Ganesh Investor Relations (510) 572-1615 investor.relations@lamresearch.com Source: Lam Research Corporation, (Nasdaq: LRCX) View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lam-research-corporation-announces-participation-at-upcoming-conferences-302313593.html SOURCE Lam Research Corporation

Polls close in Uruguay’s election, with ruling coalition and opposition headed for photo finishCalifornia Gov. Gavin Newsom announced his decision to convene a special session of the state’s legislature to safeguard the state’s progressive economic and social policies. He said, “The freedoms we hold dear in California are under attack, and we won’t sit idle.” Newsom’s decision reminds me of the USSR’s action to build a wall around East Berlin to ostensibly safeguard that bastion of liberty and prosperity from the evil forces of capitalism. And just as East Berliners found ways around the wall and ultimately to break it down, Californians are finding ways to leave the state in droves. Those California ex-pats are apparently more than willing to give up the “freedoms” that Newsom holds dear. The recent IRS report on “Gross Migration for Selected Income Items by State of Adjusted Gross Income” throws light on that issue. It presents a wealth of hard data based on actual federal taxpayer returns that pinpoint the migratory inflow and outflow of people for all 50 states. The 2022 report shows that the outflow of individuals from California to other states was 701,000, while the inflow was 398,000. California’s net outflow of 303,000 was the highest of all 50 states. It was followed by New York state with a net outflow of 221,000 and Illinois at 87,000. In addition to people flows, the IRS report includes the inflows and outflows of adjusted gross income (AGI) by state. So, it’s also possible to determine the impact of California’s net outflow of 303,000 people on AGI. For example, the average AGI for people leaving California was $134,000 versus a significantly lower $113,000 for those moving into the state. The migration of people with higher incomes leaving the state versus those moving out resulted in a net loss of $24 billion in California’s total AGI in 2022. That loss was the highest of any state. New York’s net loss of $14 billion was the second highest. Not coincidentally, the Tax Foundation’s ranking of state and local taxes placed California at second highest and New York at third. In sharp contrast, Florida’s gain of $36 billion in total AGI was the highest, followed by Texas at $10 billion. Both of these states have no state income tax. Related Articles Commentary | Alan Zorthian: The problem with the West San Gabriel Valley Area Plan Commentary | Trump and the next Congress should ensure the tax code continues to help small businesses Commentary | Senate Republicans should reject Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Commentary | Our seat at the table: Two Latina Republican lawmakers share their wisdom Commentary | Regulation could put working families’ jobs on the line and imperil our supply chain When the migratory flows of AGI for all 50 states are compared to the Tax Foundation’s tax ranking, a clear pattern emerges. The ten states that ranked lowest in taxes (1-10) experienced a net increase in total AGI of $48 billion; the next ten (11-20) added $13 billion; the next ten (21-30) added $1 billion; the next ten (31-40) lost $11 billion; while the states that ranked highest in taxes lost $49 billion. Note that the loss in total AGI for the ten states that ranked highest in taxes was almost the same as the gain in total AGI for the states with the lowest state taxes. Even worse for California’s economic future is that the largest percentage of the state’s net outflow in 2022 of 303,000 is in the 35 under 45 age cohort. That represents 90,000 or 30% of the net outflow. The 2022 IRS AGI report is not an anomaly. California experienced net losses in AGI every year between 2017 to 2022. Those losses total almost $100 billion. What should be particularly alarming to Newsom and his super majority of Democrats in the legislature is that these annual losses are cumulative. That is, the net outflow of AGI in one year continues on to the next and beyond. So, as Newsom calls for a special legislative session to figure out how to protect Californians from losing their freedoms, taxpayers are voting with their feet by leaving Newsom’s much-ballyhooed inner sanctum and uprooting their families and taking their earning power with them. Jim Doti is President Emeritus and Rick Muth Family Chair in Economics at Chapman University.The 50-year-old executive was shot at about 6.45am as he walked alone to the New York Hilton Midtown from a nearby hotel, police said. The gunman appeared to be “lying in wait for several minutes” before approaching Mr Thompson from behind and opening fire, New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. Police have not yet established a motive. “Many people passed the suspect, but he appeared to wait for his intended target,” Ms Tisch said, adding that the shooting “does not appear to be a random act of violence”. Mr Thompson was struck at least once in the back and once in the calf, Ms Tisch said. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The suspect, dressed in a hooded sweatshirt and carrying a grey backpack, then fled on foot down an alleyway before pedalling an e-bike into Central Park a few blocks away. The shooter was at large, sparking a search that included police drones, helicopters and dogs. “We are deeply saddened and shocked at the passing of our dear friend and colleague Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare,” the insurer’s parent company, UnitedHealth Group, said in a statement. “Brian was a highly respected colleague and friend to all who worked with him,” the company said. “We are working closely with the New York Police Department and ask for your patience and understanding during this difficult time.” Police issued a poster showing a surveillance image of the suspect pointing what appeared to be a gun and another image that appeared to show the same person on a bicycle. Police offered a reward of up to 10,000 US dollars (£7,860) for information leading to an arrest and conviction. The killing shook a part of New York City that is normally quiet at that hour, happening about four blocks from where tens of thousands of people are set to gather on Wednesday night for the annual Rockefeller Centre Christmas tree lighting. Mr Thompson’s wife, Paulette Thompson, told NBC News that the executive told her “there were some people that had been threatening him”. She said she did not have details, but suggested they may have involved issues with insurance coverage. UnitedHealthcare is the insurance arm of the health care giant UnitedHealth Group. The group was holding its annual meeting with investors to update Wall Street on the company’s direction and expectations for the coming year. The company ended the conference early in the wake of Mr Thompson’s death. “I’m afraid that we – some of you may know we’re dealing with a very serious medical situation with one of our team members,” a company official told attendees, according to a transcript. “And as a result, I’m afraid we’re going to have to bring to a close the event today. I’m sure you’ll understand.” Mr Thompson, a father of two sons, had been with the company since 2004 and served as chief executive for more than three years. UnitedHealthcare is the largest provider of Medicare Advantage plans in the US and manages health insurance coverage for employers and state-and federally funded Medicaid programmes. Minnesota governor Tim Walz posted on the social platform X that the state is “sending our prayers to Brian’s family and the UnitedHealthcare team”. “This is horrifying news and a terrible loss for the business and health care community in Minnesota,” the Democrat wrote.

Report: Former Nebraska coach Scott Frost returns to UCF as head coachNo. 5 Georgia football finds itself with a deficit at halftime in Saturday's SEC championship game against No. 2 Texas. But the Bulldogs' bigger concern surround quarterback Carson Beck. The Georgia quarterback was hurt in the final seconds of the first half as he was hit by Longhorns defensive edge Trey Moore. Georgia coach Kirby Smart told ESPN's Holly Rowe that he hurt his hand as the ball was knocked out by Moore. Smart continued by saying Georgia will look at Beck during halftime. Carson Beck injury update Beck sustained an injury during the final play of the first half in Saturday's SEC conference championship game when he was hit by Moore. He lay down on the turf at Mercedes-Benz Stadium for several moments before he was tended to by members of the Georgia medical staff. ESPN's broadcast showed Beck walking off the field with members of the Georgia medical staff.

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Members of the New York police crime scene unit pick up cups marking the spots where bullets lie as they investigate the scene outside the Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan where Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was fatally shot Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah) NEW YORK (AP) — The gunman who stalked and killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson fled New York City by bus, police officials told CNN on Friday. Video of the suspected shooter leaving the scene of the shooting Wednesday showed him riding a bicycle to Central Park and later taking a taxi cab to a bus depot, Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told CNN. Here’s the latest: Subscribe to our daily newsletter By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy . FBI announces reward for information leading to gunman’s arrest and conviction The FBI announced Friday night that it was offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction of the shooter who killed the CEO of the largest U.S. health insurer. The FBI’s New York Field Office is working with the New York City Police Department to identify the gunman. Police believe gunman who killed UnitedHealthcare CEO has left New York City The gunman who killed the CEO of the largest U.S. health insurer may have fled the city on a bus, New York City police officials told CNN on Friday. Video of the suspected shooter leaving the scene of the shooting Wednesday showed him riding a bicycle to Central Park and later taking a taxi cab to a bus depot, Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told CNN. “We have reason to believe that the person in question has left New York City,” Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. Gunman’s steps after killing UnitedHealthcare’s CEO give police new clues The gunman who killed the CEO of the largest U.S. health insurer made sure to wear a mask during the shooting yet left a trail of evidence in view of the nation’s biggest city and its network of security cameras that have aided authorities piecing together his movements and his identity. A law enforcement official said Friday that new surveillance footage shows the suspect riding the subway and visiting establishments in Manhattan and provided more clues about his actions in the days before he ambushed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. The gunman’s whereabouts and identity remain unknown Friday, as did the reason for Wednesday’s killing. New York City police say evidence firmly points to it being a targeted attack. For many companies, investor meetings are seen as a risk In many companies, investor meetings like the one UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was walking to when he was fatally shot are viewed as very risky because details on the location and who will be speaking are highly publicized. “It gives people an opportunity to arrive well in advance and take a look at the room, take a look at how people would probably come and go out of a location,” said Dave Komendat, president of DSKomendat Risk Management Services, which is based in the greater Seattle area. Some firms respond by beefing up security. For example, tech companies routinely require everyone attending a major event, such as Apple’s annual unveiling of the next iPhone or a shareholder meeting, to go through airport-style security checkpoints before entering. Police have obtained other surveillance images of the person wanted for questioning Those images include New York’s subway system, a law enforcement official said. In establishments where the person was captured on camera, he always appeared to pay with cash, the official said. The official wasn’t authorized to discuss details of the ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Another health insurer taking precautions after the shooting Medica, a Minnesota-based nonprofit health care firm that serves 1.5 million customers in 12 states, said it’s temporarily closing all six locations. The firm has offices in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska and North Dakota, and employs about 3,000 people. Employees will work from home, Medica spokesman Greg Bury said in an email Friday. “The safety of Medica employees is our top priority and we have increased security both for all of our employees,” a statement from Medica said. “Although we have received no specific threats related to our campuses, our office buildings will be temporarily closed out of an abundance of caution.” Bury also said biographical information on the company’s executives was taken down from its website as a precaution. Government health insurance provider Centene Corp. says its Investor Day will now be virtual The insurer cited the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in its announcement about the Dec. 12 event. “All of us at Centene are deeply saddened by Brian Thompson’s death and want to express our support for all of those affected. Health insurance is a big industry and a small community; many members of the CenTeam crossed paths with Brian during their careers,” Centene CEO Sarah M. London said in a news release. “He was a person with a deep sense of empathy and clear passion for improving access to care. Our hearts are with his family and his colleagues during this difficult time.” Centene Corp. has grown in recent years to become the largest insurer in Medicaid, the state- and federally funded program that covers care for people with low incomes. Insurers manage Medicaid coverage for states, and Centene has more than 13 million people enrolled in that coverage. UnitedHealth Group says it’s focused on supporting Brian Thompson’s family The insurance company also said it’s focused on ensuring the safety of employees and assisting investigators. “While our hearts are broken, we have been touched by the huge outpouring of kindness and support in the hours since this horrific crime took place,” the company said. NY Mayor Eric Adams provided no new information on investigation’s progress during interviews But he said Friday that he’s confident police will arrest the shooter. “We are on the right road to apprehend him and bring him to justice,” Adams said on TV station WPIX. Hours after the shooting, UnitedHealthcare removed photographs of its executives from its website Later, it removed their names and biographies entirely. Investigators believe the suspect may have traveled to NY last month on a bus that originated in Atlanta Police and federal agents have been collecting information from Greyhound in an attempt to identify the suspect and are working to determine whether he purchased the ticket to New York in late November, a law enforcement official said. Investigators were also trying to obtain additional information from a cellphone recovered from a pedestrian plaza through which the shooter fled. Killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO spotlights complex challenge companies face in protecting top brass The fatal shooting of Brian Thompson while walking alone on a New York City sidewalk has put a spotlight on the widely varied approaches companies take to protect their leaders against threats. Experts say today’s political, economic and technological climate is only going to make the job of evaluating threats against executives and taking action to protect them even more difficult, experts say. Some organizations have a protective intelligence group that uses digital tools such as machine learning or artificial intelligence to comb through online comments to detect threats not only on social media platforms such as X but also on the dark web, says Komendat. They look for what’s being said about the company, its employees and its leadership to uncover risks. Police test DNA and fingerprints on discarded bottle as they hunt for UnitedHealthcare CEO’s killer Police said Thursday they found a water bottle and protein bar wrapper from a trash can near the scene of the ambush and think the suspect bought them from a Starbucks minutes before the shooting. The items were being tested by the city’s medical examiner. Want stories like this delivered straight to your inbox?Stay informed. Stay ahead. Subscribe to InqMORNINGMKS Instruments Named One of America's Most Responsible CompaniesLOS ANGELES — Londynn Jones scored 15 points, making all five of her 3-pointers, and fifth-ranked UCLA stunned No. 1 South Carolina 77-62 on Sunday, ending the Gamecocks' overall 43-game winning streak and their run of 33 consecutive road victories. The Gamecocks (5-1) lost for the first time since April 2023, when Caitlin Clark and Iowa beat them in the NCAA Tournament national semifinals. Te-Hina Paopao scored 18 points and Tessa Johnson scored 14 for the Gamecocks, whose road winning streak was third-longest in Division I history. It was the first time UCLA took down a No. 1 team in school history, having been 0-20 in such games. The program's previous best wins were over a couple of No. 2s — Oregon in 2019 and Stanford in 2008. Elina Aarnisalo added 13 points as one of five Bruins in double figures. UCLA (5-0) dominated from start to finish, with the Bruins' suffocating defense preventing the Gamecocks from making any sustained scoring runs. South Carolina: The Gamecocks trailed by double-digits at halftime for the first time since Dec. 21, 2021, against Stanford, according to ESPN. Chloe Kitts, who averages a team-leading 14 points, finished the game with 2 points on 1 of 7 shooting. UCLA: The Bruins led 43-22 at halftime. Eight different players scored and contributed to 11-0 and 7-0 runs in the first and second quarters as they shot 52% from the field. The first quarter set the tone for a game in which the Gamecocks never led. They missed their first nine shots and were 4 of 18 from the floor in the quarter. UCLA ran off 11 straight points to take a 20-10 lead into the second quarter. The Bruins dominated the boards, 41-34, and held the Gamecocks well under their scoring average of 80.2 points. South Carolina travels to Florida to meet Iowa State in the Fort Myers Tipoff on Thanksgiving. UCLA travels to the Rainbow Wahine Showdown in Hawaii to play UT Martin on Friday. Get local news delivered to your inbox!Ex-Victorian batsman breaks MPCA club record